Siren's Song
by IrrelevantGirlie
Summary: None of this could be possibly real, but it is. Isn't it? It can't be! But it's too much for a dream! But magic doesn't even exist...does it? Poor Haruhi.
1. Chapter 1

"Look, I'm just saying that magic doesn't exist."

"You think you're so smart? Of course it exists. How else would I have been able to deal with those punks, dude?"

"Training, hard work, plain trickery. Not some hocus pocus you seem to be spouting as the truth."

"People use magic every day!"

"They do not."

"Uh, yeah they do, see?" One of the men points to a city worker, lighting the street lamps with firepower.

"That can't be magic: it must be some kind of trick."

"It ain't some trick, he's a magic user."

"You're saying he's a wizard?"

"Nah, he's just a small worker. The wizards are in guilds and do jobs where they are specialized."

"'Guilds'?"

"Yeah, around here I think the most well know would be Fairy Tail."

"'Fairytale'? isn't _that ironic,_ " she mumbles. "Okay. Now can you help me get back to where I'm from?"

"Where are you from again?"

"Tokyo."

The three people look t one another before looking back at the asker and back again. "We should take him to Mira. I don't know where that is, do you two?"

"No," they answer at the same time.

"How can you not know? It's in Japan, in the Pacific Ocean, by China." The three partners look at each other, not knowing what to say as the names are unfamiliar to them. They eventually get the girl to follow them back to Fairy Tail.

The guild is unruly as the famous Salamander tried to pick a fight with both the Lightning Lauxus and Ice King Gray when the four enter the guildhall. The trio help th girl dodge the flying people, punches, and platters as they make their way to the sleek oak bar with an alabaster beauty pouring drinks with an easygoing smile. "Hey! Who's the new person? Are they going to join?"

"We're trying to get him back to where he lives, but none of us know where that is."

"Not even you, Freed?"

"No, so we came here to see if you could be of help."

The beautiful barmaid turns to the brunette. "Okay, first off, what's your name?"

"Haruhi. I'm Haruhi Fujioka."


	2. Chapter 2

"Japan in the Pacific Ocean near China..." Mirajane's brows come together slightly as her mind sifts for anything familiar in relation, but comes up empty. "I'm sorry. Maybe if you ask Levy or the Master...but I don't know of any 'Pacific Ocean'."

"Alright, we'll ask Levy first, and if she doesn't know, we'll ask the Master."

"Master will be away for a couple weeks on a trip for the Council, so let's hope he gets back to where he needs to be by then. I'm sure somebody misses him: he's a cutie." Haruhi ignores it with what she's had to put up wth the Host Club.

"A couple weeks? Where's this Levy person?"

"She should be back this afternoon. She's on a job from the local library." Somebody calls her away and Haruhi is left with The Thunder Legion as they watch Laxus beat down the bouncing fireman. _Illusions, likely,_ she thinks, watching one fight with fire and the other one with electricity. She tries to figure it out while stepping forward when she is yanked back by her collar as a chair flies through the air she was just standing in. Haruhi turns to thank the person who helped, and is faced with a busty blonde in blue.

"Watch it Natsu! You nearly took out this little kid!" She yells it over he voices of everyone around them as the fight barrels on.

"Got it!" the flaming man replies, shocking Haruhi by the fact that he could hear it. She turns again to the blonde from before and is greeted by a handshake. _American, maybe_.

"Hi, nice to meet you! My name's Lucy: welcome to Fairy Tail!" _She smiles brighter than any grouping of LED bulbs I've ever seen_. Haruhi opens her mouth to reply when Lucy's eyes get wide while looking behind her. "Look out!" A strong hand grips her shoulder and pushes her backwards, making the blonde fall directly on top of her on the ground as an arrow-like beam of fire flies above them, startling a redhead enough that she loses the grip on her plate of strawberry cake.

A second goes by before the redhead is enraged and goes after the flamed man, apparently named Natsu by the way the lady bellows it as she charges him head on. The whole place stops as the flaming man is stopped in his tracks, nearly beaten unconscious as he apologizes to the lady known as 'Erza'. With the place instantly calmed down, the pink haired fireman approaches with a shirtless man with some weird mark on his chest to where the two had forgotten about being on the floor. "So who's the kid you're taking advantage of?" the shirtless one asks.

"Oh! Sorry!" Lucy hastily gets up, backing away a few feet while Haruhi nonchalantly picks herself up off of the floor, again used to being trown around by the Host Club and the girls that would 'accidentally' fall in their arms. It isn't unlike when she got knocked down when Tamaki tripped at her house.

"Hs name is Haruhi Fujioka," says one of the men who brought her to this place. "We're trying to bring him back home."

"Oh? And where's that?" Lucy asks Haruhi, but the man answers before she could respond herself.

"He says he's from some place called Tokyo, Japan, located by China, in the Pacific Ocean," the man recites perfectly. "Do you know where that is? I know you read a lot of things, Lucy."

"I don't think I know, Freed. You should try Levy. She's more knowledgeable than I am."

"Are you kidding me? You can be one of the smartest people we have on the team, Lucy!" The pink haired man says as a cat clicks its tongue.

"You aren't right, Natsu." It says while flying by the guy's pink head, and all Haruhi can do is gawk. "If she were smart, she'd figure out how to keep you from sneaking into her house and bed at night. Or at least be able to keep you from being sick on the train."

"Hikaru and Kaoru, please wake me the hell up, that cat just talked while flying," Haruhi numbly says. She can't stop looking at it, and hasn't blinked in a full minute while Lucy and Natsu look at each other.

"'That cat' has a name, and it's Happy," says the guy in the red coat as he makes eye contact with her. "Do you believe in magic now?" She looks at him and back at the cat before fainting and falling right to the floor, summoning gasps from everyone around the petite brunette.


	3. Chapter 3

Haruhi's eyes open to the brown ceiling above her. She sits up and looks to the eyes staring down at her in concern. "What happened?"

"You fainted in the main hall, freaking Freed out." The girl behind the bar...busty blonde...fire man Natsu...flying blue cat...shirtless boy wonder that could give dad a run for his money...the green haired man who found out she was lost and freaking out... _If I can't wake up, is this even a dream?_ Haruhi groans and sinks her head into her hands.

"What the hell happened?" She mutters and the spectators look at one another. What was the last thng she was doing before she was here? _Walking down the street to the bus stop, headed to meet the guys at the park._ "Where am I?"

"You're in the Fairy Tail infirmary." Mirajane slowly states. "You fainted downstairs."

"I meant in general, thank you. What place is this?"

"Magnolia."

"I've never heard of that country before."

"Silly, it's not a country, it's a town. The country is Fiore."

"Still m=never heard of it." The fairies just look at each other before Natsu speaks up in a huff.

"Well, I've neer heard of this 'Japan', so I guess now we're even."

"Natsu!" Lucy hisses, "the kid is obviously confused, so don't go making fun of him!"

"I am not confused!" Haruhi erupts, not being able to take it. "I know where I've lived for the past twenty years, right?" Her eyes connect with each one of theirs in desperation. "I know the people I hang out with and love, right?" What about my dad and everyone? My dream? It can't be nothing!" She curls up and hugs her knees, a familiar position when thunder rolls as tears of hopelessness and exhaustion pour over her cheeks. She lays her head down and just sobs. Someone sits down beside her and she leans into them, and cries for the life she knew.

XxX

After she's finished crying, Freed takes a handkerchief fro the inside of his jacket and wipes her face. _I hope we can help him,_ he thinks, while Lucy is stuck on the age thing, thinking _he's small for his age if he's older than me_. Mirajane watches as she gradually calms down before they move on, sensing that Levy would be back soon. "We'll get this figured out Haruhi, don't worry," Mira tries to keep her calm as they walk down the stairs.

They meet Levy at her usual table. She is sitting there reading some book with a cup of tea in front of her, hair pulled back as she sits in her normal orange dress. The others fill her in on everything as she focuses on something in the distance as she thinks on it. Gajeel walks over in curiosity when he notices the little blue-haired girl being surrounded. After being filled in on the side, he walks up ti Haruhi to check her out. _He's about the bookworm's size,_ he notes as he checks her over. Haruhi sees Gajeel, but doesn't react outwardly at all to him, surprising the guy, like it's normal to meet a huge guy with a tough outward personality. _The others seem to lean away from him slightly, like he has an issue. Sure he's big and imposing, but I don't think there's anything bad in him. Does he have the same issue as Casanoda? Does he need a 'lovely item'?_ She smirks at the thought and dismisses it, moving on. Meanwhile, Gajeel is confused by the reaction of the guy, testing the waters by walking closer, but she still doesn't react with him towering over her from behind. She just keeps looking at the bluenette, hoping that something comes out of it all. "I'm sorry, but I can't remember anything off the top of my head about any 'Japan'. I'll have to go over the maps again. Want to come with?" Levy lays the book down while standing, extending her hand to Haruhi to help in guiding. Haruhi takes the offered hand like a lifeline as they all go to the maps room together. Pulling out the world maps, Lavy lays them out as Haruhi looks on with her.

Haruhi's heart drops as she peers at the pages, letting go of Levy's hand as she shakes her head in disbelief. _What the hell is going on here?_ "This must be a hoax." She backs up a step and looks at the people gathered in the room. "Where's the real maps? _That_ is _not_ Earth. It can't be. Where's Asia? The Americas? Africa, even? Why are you guys trying to fool me?"

"No one here is trying to fool you," Freed steps forward as Mira and the others just look on, trying to grasp what's going on.

"When where's the actual map, huh? This can't be it! It's not even close!" Haruhi feels herself getting angry, knowing that the joke is going too far.

"This is the most accurate map we have-" Levy says.

"No!" She shouts, the loudest she's ever gotten with them, and a couple jumping in surprise. "It doesn't even look right in the slightest! If the club put you up to this, then just stop. Just..." she takes a breath, "stop." She waits for their serious expression to crack, for some cameraman to come out from behind her, for some cheeseball comedian to walk forward with a microphone and tell her that this was all a joke put on by her friends.

"We ain't lying to you," Gajeel says, speaking up for Levy. "If the world don't look like this, then how do you think it does? I've been all round, and I've got to say that this," he points to the map on the table, "is pretty accurate to me."

"Fine, I'll draw out the world since apparently you guys have never sat through a geography class before. Do you have a pencil and paper?"

"I have a light pen." Levy reaches into her bag.

"Okay, that will work I guess." Light, heavy, it didn't really matter. "What paper can we use then?"

"Paper? We don't use that on paper," Lucy says as Haruhi is handed something like an expo marker.

"Oh, well then, how about a whiteboard then? Is there one nearby?"

"What's a whiteboard?" Levy asks.

"It's a board teachers use at the front of classes most of the time."

"I don't know what that is, but I don't think we have one. You write in the air with this."

"The air?"

"Like this," Levy takes the pen and draws a heart in the air, but blushes as, from her perspective, it is over Gajeel.

"Woah, how does that work?" Haruhi walks up and puts her hand through the heart, ignoring the bluenette's red cheeks. "That's insane."

"You have never seen one before, have you?"

"No, now does it work?"

"Magic. Here, let me show you." Levy steps up and positions it in Haruhi's hand, steps behind her to get the visuals, and helps her figure it out from there with little stars and letters. Mirajane watches over the pair with a slight smile she always wears, wondering if this is the time to get Gajeels jealous so that he would finally ask her out. "Now that you've gotten the hang of it, you can draw your map."

Levy backs off and Gajeel slightly relaxes his stance, the only way you could tell he was tense. Haruhi draws out the world, talking as she goes about, pointing out the Americas and the other continents, finally ending up with Japan, pointing out where Tokyo was on it. Levy looks at the map of the world, and it completely boggles her mind. " _That's_ the world." Haruhi caps the pen after making sure things are labeled correctly. Not ever country came to mind, but the countries she knows and their relative continent positions are all shaped out. _That's the best I've ever fee-handed it_.

"That's an entirely new world, Haruhi. None of it looks familiar to me." Levy and Lucy looks at it together.

"This is South, West, North, and East," she says while remembering, writing them in their proper place on the sides of the picture.

"So what's this?" Gray points to the big empty space between the Americas and Asia.

"An ocean."

"That's huge." Everyone looks at the map again, amazed by it all.

"I bet there's a lot of tasty fish in there," Happy says from where Natsu is.

"Yes, and that is not even the only ocean. A lot of this," she gestures around the map in the appropriate places, "is water."

"We should keep this for Makarov," Mira says to Lavy as she goes and gets a crystal that sucks in the drawing to keep it for later use. She tuns to Haruhi. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say we don't know whatever it was you showed us. Master will have a look and see if anyone else knows something. He won't be back for a while though, so we'll find you a place until then. And make you and honorary member of the guild so you can stay with us. Anyone willing to get a roommate?"

"We can take him," Natsu says with Happy nodding along.

"That wouldn't be the best idea," Gray speaks up to Mira. "He'a welcome to my spare bed." Haruhi looks to thie shirtless man in question, but feels daggers being sunk into her back by a person she can't quite see.

"What makes you think it wouldn't be a good idea? I have a few rooms!"

"Then why do you keep coming over to my house and sleeping in my bed?" Lucy inquires in annoyance.

"Your house smells nice, there's food, and your bed is always warm."

"That's because you're in it, you freeloaders!"

"I would be willing to host him, but I don't have the room," Freed reluctantly informs Mirajane while interrupting the others' pointless argument. "Laxus wouldn't have any guests anyway, and Bixlo's room is like mine and he's bigger. I feel bad though because we said we would take charge."

"That's certainly fine, Freed; you didn't expect that housing would have been a part of it." The room gets quiet.

"Guess that leaves us then?" Gajeel asks, _wouldn't hurt keeping the guy close_.

"We wouldn't be able to cook for you though," Pantherlily shows up having heard the general gist of the current situation.

 _Another talking cat?_ "I can cook-"

"Then it's settled! You're coming with me!" Natsu puts a hot arm around Haruhi's shoulders.

Lucy pulls Mira aside while Natsu talks to Haruhi about how his house is. "Hey, Mira, wouldn't that be trouble for him? You know, cooking for Natsu?"

"Oh, no, Lucy; It wouldn't be just that. It would basically be a catetaker position." She says with her resting smile, "but wouldn't that get him out of your house?"

Lily talks to Gajeel about it apart from the others. "Gajeel. do you think it's wise? Letting him stay with Natsu?"

"Yes. If he stays with Pinky too long, what will happen? And I want to know more about him and check him out."

"I'll tell Mirajane about it later and say that we are concerned for him, so we'll stay with Natsu." Gajeel agrees, but sick withe the thought of staying with the flame head, but remains curious about Haruhi.


	4. Chapter 4

They all file into the main guildhall, Natsu still with Haruhi. When sitting at a table, Hally speaks. "I'll exchange cooking and upkeep of the house for the ability to stay with you then," she agrees, unsure how to take his enthusiasm. _He's not the same as Tamaki, and I'm sure they would bash heads, but this overwhelming positive nature reminds me of him_.

"Now you're robbing him Natsu," the blonde says.

"What?"

"He eats more than you can imagine and hates cleaning. You're taking on a lot Haruhi,"

"I'll only cook however much he brings me to make. And cleaning? I'm used to it. I'll be fine." _At least there's no class pressure like ther would be with the other hosts_.

Mirajane comes up with a dusty-looking Honarary Member stamp that Haruhi gets on her right forearm. It's a thin, black outline of the origional stamp for the other members, making her a part of the guild. "Now, you had mentioned your father earlier..."

"Ha, " she laughs. "He goes by Ranka and works at a bar near our house." Her mind sobers a bit. "He must be freaking out, like the rest of them."

"So what about your mother?"

"She, uh, died. A while ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Were you close to her?" Lucy asks.

"Extremely. She taught me a lot too. I took over a lot of things after she passed, like the cooking and cleaning."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"No, it's just me."

"We have more in common than I thought," Lucy mumbles out of hearing.

"But he isn't from a rich name," Natsu says, unaware that no one else heard Lucy.

"No, remember Natsu?" Happy corrects, "Lucy's family isn't rich anymore."

""That never mattered to me and you know it, cat."

"Yeah, but ou're still a princess at heart," Natsu laughs as Lucy denies it.

"'Princess'?" Haruhi looks her up and down. "You're not like any I've ever met."

"Quit confusing the new guy you two- wait. You've actually met a princess before?"

"A few. And other rich heirs and heiresses."

"Where?"

"At my school."

"At your school?! What were they doing there?"

"Attending classes. What else?"

"Are you some kind of heir?" Lucy asks, looking him over, not noticing anything specific.

"No, in their eyes I'm but a commoner. I attend on scholarship at the Academy."

"You must be real smart," Happy comments.

"I make do. Read when I can and whatnot."

"You like reading?" Levy asks, leaning forward into the conversation.

"Yes, it is one of my favourite things to do."

"What do you like to read?" Haruhi lists off a few of her favourite authors, but even when Lucy, Levy, and Freed listed theirs, both sides were unfamiliar with the works of another. "Right," Levy turns a little pink out of embarrassment, "the, uh, different world thing," Levy says. "What's it like over there? Is there magic like ours?"

"He said that he didn't even believe in magic, so I'm guessing not." Freed sits back on the bench. They've pulled two or three tables together into one and are all sitting around Haruhi.

"You believe in it now, don't you?" Lucy asks.

"I suppose. That pen was interesting before. And you guys are all saying that things like that is normal here?"

"Yes. And every single person in this guild knows how to use it, personalised for themselves," Mirajane adds.

"How does that work?"

"Should we take turns showing her?" Natsu excitedly asks no one in particular, itching to move. "It could be fun."

"Here?" Lucy asks.

"Why not the stage? No one else is using it."

"As long as we don't ruin anything at all," Mira smiles, "then you guys can show off your stuff, but no fighting, or you'll get recommended to be punished by the master by me." Everyone flinches at that, but then hoots and hollers go around as the air itself is excited. Haruhi is put on an ottoman of centre stage in the audience as all the members line up behind the stage. _Like a talent show,_ Haruhi's mind provides the word. A magical talent show.


	5. Chapter 5

Each willing person on the stage gives their names, type of magic being performed, and an example of said magic before exiting the stage.

"My name is Levy McGarden, and I use Solid Script magic." She takes a breath and puts a hand in the air, "Solid Script: Iron!" A circle shoots up out of thin air, and the word IRON appears and drops to the floor, making a huge thunk as it hits the hollow stage. She flinches at the sound and looks sheepish. "Oops. I guess I should have chosen something else."

"Don't worry about it!" Gajeel enters the stage to pick up the word like it's nothing. "I'll be taking this."

"Oh, yeah, sure. It's yours." He walks backstage and Haruhi's brows dip in confusion as she hears the sound of it being crushed or torn.

A disembodied voice cries out from the backstage "Levy! If he gets iron, give me the fire!"

"Alright, Natsu, coming up," she says while rolling her eyes. "Solid Script: Fire!" Haruhi hears a whooshing noise and a slight glow from behind the stage, but that soon disappears.

"Thanks! Very Delicious!"

"Of course it is, it's from the Shrimp."

"While Haruhi is still trying to process what had just occurred, the next people head onto the stage. "Hi! I'm Mirajane Strauss, and this is my brother and sister, LElfman and Lisanna. We all practice Take Over magic. We either change completely or partially. I will be showing you my trademark Satan Soul. Lisanna will be showing you her cat abilities, and Elfman will be showing you his Beast Soul. Do not worry, we should still be conscious." On the count of three, they yell their cues and it blows her mind to see them up there. The cupcake of Mirajane turns out to be the poisoned apple that KOed Snow White. Lisanna didn't change much visually, but it looks like a Halloween dress up for how cute it looks for her. Elfman grew slightly, and now he looks beastly in his bulk instead of just an extreme weightlifter.

"Wow," is all she seems to say.

"Thanks. There is more we can do from these, so this is just a taste of it." They leave the stage together as the next person comes up.

"I am Erza Scarlet. I am known for my Requip and Sword magic. I am a master while using my weapons. I'll show you three of my armour sets: Black Wing, Flight, and my famous Heaven's Wheel." There is a shimmer of light before black wings pop out from her back, looking like a bat's. Before Haruhi can even see it properly, it is replaced by a cheetah print outfit complete with ears. Finally there is another set of wings on her back, a full pleated skirt, and a tremendously revealing top that makes even Haruhi turn away out of politeness. _What the hell is this lady doing, going out like this? And she's famous for this one? It's no wonder why!_ There's another flash and she looks up to see her back in the armour she was previously wearing as she kind of marches off of the stage.

"Hello. I'm Lucy Hartfilia, and I'm a Celestial Wizard." There's a slight pause. "So, uh, okay." She takes a key from her belt and holds it up in front of her. "Open, Gate of the Lion: Leo!"

A man in a black suit with orange hair suddenly appears beside Lucy. "Oh gods in heaven, there's a man there. Wait, where did he go?"

"I'm here." Haruhi jumps out of the chair and her fist flies towards Loke's face, but it's caught easily and pulled upward, so she stumbles forward with the momentum. "Hmm...and what's your name?" His voice suddenly sounds like a purr and it sets Haruhi at ease, even that close to him.

"His name is Haruhi, Loke. Not your type," Lucy calls from the stage, sounding tired.

"Then I guess I need to change my type," he murmurs. _His eyes are some funky honey gold, she thinks while looking beyond the blue lenses. I've never seen anything like it. Exotic, like Tamaki's violet._ He groans as he turns a glimmering gold. "I'll be back in a little while my spring love," he caresses my cheek. And then just like that, he's gone.

"Sorry about that Haruhi. Didn't know he had that side to his personality."

"It's fine," she says absently, "who was he again?"

"Leo, the lion. Head of the constellation spirits, known to us in Fairy Tail as Loke."

"Loke..." Haruhi tests it on her tongue.

Lucy leaves the stage and a trio walks up, and Haruhi recognises two from earlier. "Natsu Dragneel," one gestures to himself before the others, "Gajeel Redfox, and Wendy Marvell. We all have Dragon Slayer magic."

"We were given these powers when we were raised by dragons." The girl named Wendy says it in a small, yet clear voice. "I am a Sky Dragon Slayer."

"I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer."

"I'm an Iron Dragon Slayer."

"And since our magic can be destructive," Wendy continues, "we are going to show you our example outside, so follow us." They jump off the stage and beckon Haruhi, so she goes with them. "Remember guys, straight to the sky, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. On Three!" Shouts Natsu, "One!"

"Two!" Wendy yells.

"Three." Gajeel finishes, sounding slightly bored.

"Fire Dragon:"

"Sky Dragon:"

"Iron Dragon:"

"Roar!" They say at once before a great wind picks up. Columns of stuff raise from their upturned heads. One bright orange, another dark gray, and the last a see-through bluish white. They meet together farther up in the sky and twist together into one.

"Woo!" Natsu yells in the air when they all stop.

"That was...I can see why they wouldn't want you doing that inside." The four of them go back inside together; since everyone else knows how they work, they didn't feel the need to go out with them.

Everyone else gets to go one their turns, and the last is Freed Justine working wth his enchantments. He boxes Haruhi inside on a previously unknown deal with Loke until she agrees to go and get dinner with him at some point. Lucy nearly throws a fit from outside of the box, yelling "what's the point of having a key if you go freely whenever?"

"You would probably be dead a few times over if it hadn't been for that part," Loke points out, standing calmly inside of the square with her. Haruhi touches the wall of nothing, watching the runes setting up the condition in glittering purple block letters that appear out of the air.

"How strong is this?" She bumps it with a fist, feeling it like a brick wall under her hand.

"Unless you can rewrite the code, it's fairly impenetrable," Freed lets her know.

"Want to see?" Loke smiles, not waiting for the answer as his hand glows bright gold as he steals up and punches it harder than most humand could, but he does not get past it.

"Woah. And if the conditions are _not_ met..."

"You're stuck here until they are or I take it down. There's no time limit for it this time."

"Don't feel like you have to agree, Haruhi," Lucy says from the edge of the wall. "Loke, when you get outta there I'm gonna-"

"I'm fine, Miss Lucy," Haruhi interrupts the imminent threat. "I'll go out to dinner with him. I just wanted to know how this worked." As soon as the words are out, the walls fall apart.

"You mean it?" Loke asks.

"If I didn't, would it really have let us go?" They both look over to Freed.

"There is a condition that it had to be sincere, so yes, Loke, he means it."

"There is a loophole in that you might want to cover," Haruhi tells Loke as he does some version of a happy dance. "You never clarified if it would be just the two of us, or when you would have it take place. You left it open to where I could invite anyone here and it still would be within the conditions of the box."

Loke stops dancing immediately and Lucy laughs. "You're right! I knew I liked you!"

"You aren't going to do that though, right?"

"I never said I was going to, but I've had to look for loopholes in contracts and rules before while dealing with a few of my friends, so it comes automatically."

"So dinner the dafter tomorrow is good with you? Just me, you, and nobody else?"

"Yes, but I don't have anything else to wear other than these. I didn't exactly pack for this trip."

"We'll think of something. Until then, adieu." He disappears like before as he is bowed in half. The last word makes me flinch internally, but I get over it.

"You just agreed to a date with a celestial spirit." Lucy says, numbly. "Not just any spirit, but Leo the Lion."

"It's something I've never done, and it's not like I wouldn't eat anyway, so why not?" She looks to Freed who looks as shocked as Lucy. "That was an interesting thing, and I hope the deal was worth it. Wish this would work back where I'm from." Haruhi walks over to the bar where Mirajane is and asks where Natsu went off to.

"You were serious when you agreed on staying there?"

"He's staying where?" Loke walks up with Lucy, appearing again, curious to the conversation.

"With Natsu. And did I hear you correctly when you agreed to go on a date with Loke? I wouldn't have expected that," she says, soaking up the information from everywhere. _And here I thought I could get Gajeel jealous. Gajeel probably wouldn't swing that way enough to make Levy jealous either._

"I was serious, and yes, I did agree."

"But why _would_ you agree?" Lucy asks, stymied.

"Hey, I'm not bad," Loke interjects, acting hurt by his master.

"Would you rather it be you, Miss Lucy?" Haruhi looks up into her eyes, "because if you did," she looks the blonde up and down, "you aren't my type." Loke kind of laughs at that, but straightens up when she glares at him.

"Ooh. Isn't _that_ a blow to the princess, being looked over by a prince." Happy says as he and Natsu approach.

"I'm not a prince."

"You're new, and that's what matters to them," Mira says. "By the way Natsu, Lily and Gajeel are going too so they can keep an eye on you guys."

"So he's going to be staying with two Dragon Slayers and two Exceed pairs? A cabin full of men?" Lucy asks with a slight panic in her voice. "Recipe for disaster."

"Give me some credit Lucy," Lily says from the bar top. "I was a general in the army for crying out loud."

"I don't think calling yourself a war general would help at this point," Mirajane tells him.

"Duly noted, but it isn't false."

"Who said I wanted more people around?"

"I could stay too," Loke chips in. "I'm good at cooking."

"No, you are going to go back, no matter how many times you can get out of your realm without me."

"But I could make it fun," he whines in a playful begging fashion. "I was already gone for just over three years, so what's the harm?"

"Just go back."

"Fine," he pouts slightly, "but I will be back for my date." He disappears yet again with a smile to Haruhi, and the action picks back up with Mira laying the law down.

"He is not staying with you alone. We need to try to keep him safe at least."

"Then why not forgo the whole thing with Natsu and Happy and just let him stay with us?"" Pantherlilly inquiries, "it was a reasonable option."

"Lucy needs _some_ peace," Levy stresses, which is not unnoticed by Mira.

"You got that right," Lucy mutters.

"And if you want to know him better," Mirajane continues, "The more the merrier and the more merry you are, knowledge flows."

"There's not that much to know about me," Haruhi corrects. "I'm an open book most of the time, but no one really reads." Like she hadn't even spoken, Natsu addresses her.

"Anyways, I got foodstuffs with the help of someone at the shops," Natsu says," an"and it actually made it home. If you two," he speaks to Gajeel and Pantherlily, "want something tonight, then bring ingredients when you come with your stuff."

"May I go shopping with you next time so I know what I'm making?" Haruhi asks, a little concerned with the fact that he said he had needed help. "

"Sure! We'll be happy to bring you. Now then, lets go!"


	6. Chapter 6

_Well, it's a decent size for all of us, maybe three rooms to be exact. But isn't it big when it's just him and Happy?_ The smell in the house isn't overwhelmingly gross like Lucy had warned, but it would still have to be cleaned up. Clutter is here and there, but on the whole, it isn't as bad as she would think for a younger guy living on his own. The first floor is a bit bigger than the apartment she had with her father pack in Tokyo. "Where are the rooms?"

"Upstairs. Same with the bathroom, but there's a restroom down here too. I'll give you a tour." They walk around the house quickly while he names off the rooms in passing. "This will be your room by the stairs, then it's mine, then I guess ol'Iron head will be in the one across from nmine, and then the bathroom next to his. Pretty square. End of the hall there's a closet, but I don't know what to do with that." Downstairs again, Haruhi finds the tour ending in the kitchen. "So yeah, that's the house. There's a tool shed out back, but you wouldn't have to worry about that. And if you go outside for a walk, don't get lost in the woods: wouldn't want a kidnapping on our hands."

"'Kidnapping'? Who would do that?" _How old do you think I am?_

"Monsters," he says nonchalantly enough to make Haruhi doubt that staying here would be a good idea. "Anyway, cups, bowls, silverware, pots, pans, cooler, oven, stove," he rattles them off while pointing around the room at various places and spots. "The house was furnished but abandoned when we got it, so there's stuff that I have never used, especially since I don't like my cooking like Mira's. And that's it. Questions?"

"Yes. Where are the lights?" She had been waiting for someone to mention it and turn them on, but no one has seemed uncomfortable as the sun was setting outside with the sun on the other side of the trees.

"Oh! Here." Natsu's hand goes up and lights a lamp chandelier on the ceiling that she hadn't noticed was even there. The room glows brighter when they are fully lit, and she notes that the kitchen was bigger than she had previously thought.

"Alright. I'll just get started then." He doesn't move like she would expect and just stands there, looking at her. Not knowing what he was waiting for, she peeks into the basket of presumed groceries and spies wrapped objects.

"We normally catch them fresh, but we didn't have the time today." Lifting the packaging's paper up, Haruhi is faced with a fish she doesn't know. "Happy will probably eat it if you cook it, but he normally prefers them raw."

"Where is he?" _They seem close_.

"Probably either bugging Luce or Ironface somewhere." He's now perched on the end of the counter, watching Haruhi put things together in her mind and putting those thoughts into action skillfully. She skins the fish, boils some unknown grain she sees to be fairly close to rice. Dicing one fish, she mixes it with rice and wraps them in the leaves of a plant that was in another basket in small balls and puts them aside. Natsu watches her movements in the kitchen, both cleaning and cooking at once gracefully as if it were a dance mastered long before. _Compared to Lucy, I guess this is what a pro looks like...  
_ Gajeel comes in with a thing of meat, so Haruhi takes it and slices it up to cook while she starts the other fish. _I suppose I'll get better when I'm more familiar with everything and how they taste together...I don't even know what these ingredients are,_ she thinks as she samples each thing she adds to the pots just as she had with the leaves for the makeshift sushi.

"Well, I don't know exactly what kind of everything anything is, but I tried my best." Haruhi says a time later. "I think it's done." She doesn't feel confident with him watching her every movement like he was waiting to correct her or tell her it wasn't right or something wasn't going to be well together. "I only heard about the cat's preference, so I hope it's all to your liking." She says it like her staying there is dependent on what he thinks of this meal.

"My preference?" Happy comes in from the other room with the other two.

"You like raw fish, don't you? These are what you should eat then," she says, turning to grab a little ball off of the platter and tossing it to him so he can try it.

"Oh! It's yummy!" He flies around the room. "I'm going to like having you around here!"

"Okay, if you guys will take some of this, we'll take it to the table to eat." After that's done, they all dig in. _It's better than I had thought, but it could definitely improve, she thinks as everyone eats. And eats. And eats. Where are they putting this? It's a bit freaky. I know I made too much, but it's almost gone!_ Finally the last of it is gone and Haruhi is surprised that they haven't popped like ticks.

"That was awesome," Natsu says as both men lean back in their chairs.

"I've never had anything like it before," Pantherlily remarks by Happy, who seems to be almost asleep after eating all of that. "That was delicious, thank you," he stands before plopping down again.

"You cooked the meat really well," Gajeel comments. "You left plenty of pink, unlike others around here," he looks at Pantherlily. _Can the cat cook?_ "If you're cooking, I'll eat it."

"Same here: You could rival Mira," Natsu says with a hand on his belly. "Now all I need is fire."

"Fire? I think there's some still left in the oven. I added a log towards the end when it wasn't needed. What do you need fire for?"

"To eat." He heads into the kitchen. _Eat? But he just ate a ton of food. Wait! Eat fire?_ Haruhi gets up with as many dishes as she can collect at once before heading into the kitchen in time to see Natsu reach into the oven.

"What are you doing?!" She rushes to find a place to set down the dishes carefully beside the sink. With that done, she turns to see that he has already taken out the log that was put in there just a while ago.

"Eating." He then proceeds to eat the flames like cotton candy, defying the logic in Haruhi's mind.

"What. The. Hell." He finishes it and throws the remaining log back in.

""Now I'm good." He yawns, then sees Haruhi's face. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"You just ate fire, and you are asking me why I'm looking at you funny? That's rich."

"Calm down. He eats fire as part of his Dragon Slayer thing," Happy informs her as he nearly waddles in. "Just like how Gajeel eats metal. It fuels them."

"That's..." Odd. _But I can't really say that, can I? This is how they live._ "I'm going to lay down you guys." _I'll get the dishes in the morning since they are practically licked clean._ "You said first by the stairs, right?"

"Oh, yeah," he says, opening his eyes. "Let me escort you."

"I'm sure I could find it."

"No, I'll come with you. You don't have sleepwear, do you?"

"Uh, no."

"You can borrow some of my clothes then."

"That won't work, pinky; he's too small for them."

"It's fine you guys."

"Oh yeah..." He looks confused for a moment before something clicks in his mind. "Happy! Can you fly to Romeo's and get two pairs of clothes from him? Tell him we'll return them."

"Aye, sir!" He says before flying out of the window.

"He's that shrimp about Shimp's size, right? I s'pose that would work. Although, Romeo may be bigger than this one. Lily, can you go and make sure Happy doesn't screw up?"

"Hay!" Natsu yells when Lily leaves after Happy. "He can do it on his own!"

"Yeah, right, pinky."

"I'll be upstairs." Haruhi speaks like there isn't a yelling match, like she does back home. "Tell the cats to put the clothes by the door of the bathroom."

"Happy can be smart!"

"In what way? He's pretty simple-minded to me!"

"Goodnight, and thank you for having me." Haruhi bows quickly and leaves the arguing pair, heading for the upstairs. She eventually learns how to run a bath after scrounging up a box of matches for a dusty lantern. She soaks for all of five minutes when someone knocks quietly and opens the door. "Hello?" She stiffens up behind the curtain, willing to attack if they try to move it. She can hear faint yelling in the background, probably still from downstairs.

"Yes, it's Lily here with Romeo's old clothes."

"Okay, just leave them by the door, thank you," she says hastily.

"Do you need my assistance with anything? Like washing you back, perhaps?" _You're a cat,_ she thinks as she politely declines the offer. He leaves letting her know that any one of them would be willing to make her stay better, and they'll probably be downstairs for an hour or more still.

Using the products in the bathroom, Haruhi finishes up her bath. _Shoot. I forgot to ask where the towels were. Oh well._ She takes a look at the clothes left for her. Everything is big on her by a couple sizes. Luckily for though there is a small belt added into the mix, and the smallest loop cinches it. _But sleeping in a belt?_ She walks across the hall and into the room set aside for her, taking the matches. _Dust._ She can smell even in the stale air. _That might be most of this place's mess._ Not finding another lamp like she had in the bathroom, she finds a scrap of cloth on the floor and gently scrubs the window for some moonlight to shine in. Gently tossing the pillows to the side and peeling off the comforter. Haruhi finds the sheets underneath not to be too bad to sleep in. Haruhi picks the phone out of her pocket and puts it onto the side table after checking it. _No signal, and a ten-percent charge. Too bad the charger is at home, but it isn't like I would get a signal anyway._ She can still hear them downstairs, and what must be the black cat trying to get them to shut up peacefully. The girl sighs and crawls under the covers in the cloud-darkened room and falls asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The light slowly reaches the east facing room and prods the girl to get up. She turns to avoid it and gain five minutes, but hits something that stirs in annoyance. _Dammit. I told them never to steal Kyouya's spare key and sneak in on their own ever again. Tamaki is normally the ringleader, so I guess it's fitting if it's his neck that gets wrung first._ Her eyes open to shoo out the unwanted guests when she's faced with a gruff man with big black hair. She is about to scream when she remembers where she is and what happened. "Hey. What're you doing in here?" Nothing happens, so she pushes his shoulder. "Hey what's-your-name, get up. It's morning scruffy."

"Leave me alone Lily," he says with a huff. _Lily is the black cat, right? I can't imagine it calling him scruffy._

"I'm not your cat you stupid dragon man." _What was his name again? More importantly..._ "What are you doing in here?"

"Getting sleep," he mumbles and Haruhi smells the faint trace of alcohol on him.

"Can you not in your own room? Oh, what's the point; it's not like I could fall asleep again." She sits up to remember the wall is right there, boxing her in.

"Noisy little thing, aren't you? Just shut it and rest." He throws his arm around and pins Haruhi back onto the bed by the sheer weight and force of it. She tries to wriggle out from underneath it. "Just stay quiet and settle down, will ya?" He yawns in her ear, breath heating up her neck. "Don't get so hyped up in the morning, bookworm."

"I can be how I want, you dingy dragon, now paws _off_ ," she shoves the centre of his chest with her shoulder, using the leverage with her foot backing her up on the wall, but his arm tightens around her like some movie hero thinking 'if I'm going down, you're coming with me'. The momentum has them tumbling over the edge to the floor two where he's on top of her. _He's heavier than he looks, and he looks like he's made of bricks already._

"You aren't going to let me sleep, now are you-" his eyes are finally opening as he looks down at the person trapped underneath him. "You ain't Shrimp."

"And you're crushing my lungs!" He quickly sits back to his knees, still pinning half her body down as he slowly wakes up some more. She takes a breath and rubs her eyes before realising something. "Aw, and there I slept with them in." She takes her contact lens' case from the pants nearby, plucks out the lenses, and sets them in the readily put solution. _They're going to need a long soak before I'll put them back in again._ She fumbles around to check the other pocket for the spare glasses she wore and curses out loud. _When the hHell did they-?_ She looks to the guy above her and sighs. _Must have stepped on them when he came in sometime last night. If I had been thinking I would have put them by that worthless phone._ "Do you know a good eye doctor around here?"

"Does it look like I need an eye doctor?" _No, I don't know how you see._ "I didn't even know that you couldn't see. What did you just pull out of your eye?"

"Contacts, dummy. And we'll have to find one today to get other glasses." She sets them on her nose. The crookedness doesn't bother her as much as the cracked lenses do, but she gets up anyway. After she motions for him to completely stand to free her. He stands and extends a hand.

"Great," he sighs, stretching his arms above his head to stretch out. "Now I'm fully awake."

"Then you should have slept in your own bed, moron." _God, now I feel like Kyouya._

The door opens up and the pink haired man from yesterday walks in with the blue cat, walking upright on the floor. "Oh, you're awake Gajeel? I didn't think you'd be up so soon. What are you doing in here anyway?" _So_ that's _his name._

"I think he liiikes him-wait." The cat pauses in confusion with its paw over its mouth. "But I thought that Gajeel liked-"

"Another word and you're skinned, cat," he says while glaring at Happy.

"When did you get glasses Haruhi?" He asks instead.

"Yeah, you weren't wearing those yesterday," Natsu observes.

"I've always worn them to see, but now they're broken." She glances towards Gajeel for half a second. "I'll have to get new ones now." She Heads out to the restroom. Looking into the mirror she'll have to clean later, she wets her hands to straighten out the cowlicks that's cropped up overnight from having slept with damp hair. After that, she heads to the kitchen to wash the dishes from the night before and look around for breakfast ingredients, tasting a few since they sat without labels. _Eggs in the cooler, I think, rice-like stuff from last night, no baking powder or soda...looks like omurice is what I'll make. Other-world Omurice. And with this lot, I'll have to aim for a triple batch than the usual._

"What are you doing?" Natsu appears without noise, having returned to his watchful spot from last night. The sudden showing makes her jump and drop an egg that breaks over the ground. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She gets a rag from a random drawer and cleans it up. "I'm making breakfast for everyone."

"Really?"

 _He sounds both excited and confused. Does he not eat breakfast or something? With dinners like those of last night, maybe not. Maybe he only eats once a day._ "Yes."

"Oh. Normally I just eat at the guild, but if you want to make something, I'll eat it too."

"What do you normally have?" She looks at the eggs in the basket. _Maybe he doesn't like eggs?_

"I don't know. Porridge probably."

"You don't know what you eat normally?"

"All I'm doing is eating it. What's there to pay attention to?" She takes out a mixing bowl and starts cracking eggs in it before eyeing the rice-stuff.

"You should know what you're eating at least.

"Why? I didn't know exactly what you were feeding us last night, but it tasted good. I liked it. If I liked it, what's the problem?" _This guy could wind up poisoned for all he cares apparently. But I guess if you can eat fire, then nothing else can harm you._ By the time she finishes cooking everything, everyone is inside and sitting around the table. She uses unknown waitressing skills to take out four plates at once before going back to get hers. They stare at the yellow shape a few moments, watching her as she tackles her smaller one before they copy her for their gargantuan ones. _But there was no catsup._ She hears similar comments like that of last night before there is a knock at the door.

"Hey, are you guys up yet?" Lucy walks into the house to find them eating. "You're only just now eating? I thought since Natsu was up hours ago that that would have been done already. That's rare."

"It's my fault," Haruhi says while standing up at her place, "I'm sorry if I've kept you waiting for anything, Miss Lucy." She turns on the slight charm she's achieved from the Host Club automatically without thinking about it, and Lucy smiles.

"It's no problem Haruhi, you're completely fine. And just 'Lucy' is fine with me."

"I hardly think you could be ' _just_ ' Lucy, but I understand. Please, sit." She doesn't break eye contact as Lucy sits. "May I get you anything?"

"No, there's no need; I had something over at the guildhall. I had just come over here when I realised that Natsu wasn't there already. If we were going to go shopping today, then we would need to get money, so I was thinking about getting a few easy jobs."

"Oh? Why not fill us in while we eat? I'm sure we are itching to hear what's what." Haruhi then sits and eats without speaking as Lucy gives the schematics of the jobs. The only one who even looks twice is Pantherlily, but nothing surfaces in enough time that any hint of suspicion sticks.

After breakfast, the group splits to the jobs and shopping. The market is an open air market and Lucy finds Haruhi an eye doctor that gets her another pair of glasses pretty quickly that are 'so' her, according to the blonde. The selling point for the brunette is that the thin, dark, wired frames are flexible and he claims they are shatter proof. _They don't even feel like they are there,_ she notices as they leave, _and what in the world are jewels? Do they use gems as a currency?_ The man didn't take her money when she tried paying for them. He even laughed at the money. And with a different currency, Haruhi doesn't even know what to pay back the people who have helped her. _Or the amount to tell the guys so they can pay it since it probably is some trick of theirs._ She and Natsu, when he gets back, go through the food supply section slowly as she checks out everything on sale and questions him on how things taste, because although he doesn't care about taste, apparently he can remember how some do specifically.

They stop for lunch, and surprisingly it's a ramen shack, but it tasted different still. But after lunch, Lucy spirits her away to a clothing shop to get Haruhi looking nice in 'her own' clothes, which is when Haruhi remembers about dinner with Leo. _Or Loke. Whichever._ Trying on what she's given, she hardly sees what she's wearing until it's narrowed down to simple black slacks, a whit button-up, and a black tie that Lucy swears should be worn loosely to look good. _There you go being a Barbie again,_ she thinks as Lucy runs with the purchases to the counter. "It won'ttake long since you're a guy and don't seen particularly nervous, but this is Loke, so I want you to look your best. Just don't fall for any of his stupid, flirty, fake-out pick-up lines."

"Well, I-"

"Nope! I will take care of you myself." _Doesn't matter_ _anyway._ Haruhi smiles towards the pure-hearted blonde that's been buzzing around all day. _She isn't as I had thought, I think. Well, not as bad. She's still princess-like, but there's something else. But today isn't bad._

Back at Natsu's cabin, Lucy tousles Haruhi's hair about, trying to get it to lay a certain, 'right' way. Lucy keeps loosning the tie, but Haruhi tightens it a bit out of habit from Ouran's uniform. Haruhi rolls her eyes when Lucy wants to go over ettiquette in case Loke took them to a nicer place, but with what she had to go through with the Hosts, this is nothing to her as she even corrects Lucy's teachings at points.

"He seems fine to me. I'll miss his cooking tonight though, "Natsu sighs in the corner next to Happy.

"I didn't think you could miss something that wasn't even a plan of happening. I would make you something to eat later though, but Lucy forbade me from making anything." Haruhi rolls up the sleeves to her elbows since ther wasn't a jacket.

"Don't do that now!" Lucy grabs her hands to make them stop moving and then pulls down what was already rolled. "You do that later after you relax."

Haruhi gently removes herself from Lucy's clutches by scooting over on the sofa. "I _am_ relaxed." She then fishes rolling up her sleeves against Lucy's fidgiting.

"How can you be so relaxed? It's like there's no tension in your body!" She's bouncing on her toes. "You're going to dinner _with a celestial spirit!_ "

"I think I've got that, Miss Lucy." She uses the formal way Lucy doesn't like because she was starting to really match the prissy princesses back home, freaking out over every single thing. "However, I feel quite calm, despite what you think I should be." The clock ticks seven, and there's a promt knock at the door that makes Lucy jump and run for it, pulling it open to reveal Loke standing in a suit and tie.

"I thought knocking would be the better option instead of just appearing in the room. But I thought Haruhi himself would answer, not the whole brigade." Haruhi hasn't moved, Lucy is at the door with Natsu, who just seems to move with her at times, the cats are there, and then Gajeel is lined up last at the door. "Do I have to ask to come in?"

"No," Haruhi gets up from the chair after straightening her sock on her ankle. "I'm all ready to go."

"Nonsense, he can stay for tes," Lucy insists.

"What are you, my father? Besides, I haven't got any made, and it would be pointless to make some now." She walks past all of their eyes, right to Loke. "Shall we go?"

"Let's." They walk off anf leave the others behind, Lucy mentally flipping out, Natsu watching his new favoutite cook walk away before dinner, and Gajeel standing there, just gettingthe situation with Haruhi going out for dinner with Loke. _You're telling me that I slipped into bed with a guy who likes guys, thinking it was the bookworm?_


	8. Chapter 8

Loke takes her out to a restaurant where there are real table cloths, yet still paper napkins. Not knowing the local cuisine, she relies on him for the taste as they chat, bouncing from topic to topic as they leisurely eat their meal, eventually getting to the 'firsts'. "Okay, first kiss?"

"It was at a ball the guys were throwing, and I ended up having to kiss the winner of the dance contest on the cheek instead of the other guy. I didn't mean to though, but one thing lead to another and I accidentally kissed her on the mouth instead of the cheek."

"That must have been embarrassing," he laughs, having fun.

"Not at the time, because it isn't like I could erase it anyway, but it did turn out to be embarrassing when my father ended up seeing the picture later while I was filling in at an all-girls' school for a play. With as active in my life as he is, he was shocked when he realized I didn't tell him about it, but how could I? How about you?"

"It's been so long, being a spirit and all. and I'm sure Lucy has told you that I am a player by now-"

"She didn't say that specifically, but if she had, others' opinions don't effect my choices. Especially when I meet them just the day before."

Loke sits back a bit and just looks at her, as if appraising the brunette. "You are different from the other people I know."

"Yeah, well, I'm not from around here, remember?" The dessert gets there then and she takes a bite under his gaze.

"Yes, I do. You're just so interesting." They go on and talk some more, trying each other's desserts, having fun and forgetting themselves there. "It's fun talking with you Haruhi." The restaurant is closer to closing with the lights dimmed, making a nice and soft atmosphere. "You are different than those around Fairy Tail, and I don't just mean where you come from." He takes a sip from his glass and leans forward on his forearms. "I don't know why or exactly what though," his voice lowers itself to match the light as Haruhi leans forward, entranced. "Maybe it's something in you attracting me. I've felt this pull since appearing yesterday, and it was hard to go back and stay in the spirit world, which is insane since that's where I live most of the time. Maybe it's fate?" He hums, "that would be an idea, wouldn't it. What else would fate be?" Loke's hand reaches out on its own to touch hers, making it warm. "Is it so bad to wish you could stay? If not here, then there?"

It takes a few moments for it to sink in, what he's saying. Just about when she is close to say it wasn't bad at all. Her eyebrows form a 'v' as her head softly dips and she looks at him over her glasses. "Of course it would be. I want to go back there. It is my home after all."

"I didn't mean to offend you," he back-pedals, "it had just seemed to me that you just belonged with me-"

"'Belong'?" She pulls her hands back and sits up. "I arrived in this world _two_ days ago, and you think I _belong_?" She gives a huff of breath. "I understand that you guys are nice people, but I'm not from around here. I'm not even from this world apparently." The sadness that was kept at bay after waking up and realizing that it wasn't Tokyo comes back, and irritation colours her words harshly as the feeling stews around her. "My home is I don't even know how far, but it most certainly waiting for me." _Two days and I'm already getting to comfortable here. It is starting to feel like there is no choice but to stay, but what of the others? I can't even exactly picture them out too well in my head anymore!_ She tries to visualise everyone back home and it's a bit fuzzy, like an after-image or shadow. _Well, that's absurd! It has only been two days, right? Something's not right here or something. I need to focus, not go on dates, or I'll lose it all, right?_ Her vision starts swimming with the thought and panic that something could be terribly wrong with her. She stands and he gets up as well. "No. Just stay here. I need some air. Alone."  
She turns around and walks out, leaving him standing over their desserts, looking after her.


	9. Chapter 9

_Went out to get your mind off of things, and it has come full circle..._ She huffs in the cool air, almost regretting coming, but knowing otherwise she's had a good time. _You just had to overdo things, huh? You could have remained calmer, playing it off like with those girls who were insistent on taking you to their mansions._ She walks left sown the street, thinking she'll go a block in each direction of the restaurant before heading back in so she won't get lost while calming her head. Turning back at the street corner, she runs into a trio of scantily clad women waltzing around on stilettos. "Hey, fella, you're cute," the supposed leader says with a purr to her voice that's meant to melt men at their core. The other two flankHaruhi, resting their arms across her shoulders, reminiscent of how the twins would act at the club." Why don't you," she steps forward and lightle pulls the brunette's chin forward, "come with us. We could use someone like you."

"Not that I don't appreciate your sentiment, I have to be elsewhere: excuse me." She tries to move forward as the other two on either side grabs her arms.

"That wasn't a request," the leading lady states, lifting up a hand and blowing powder in Haruhi's face that looks like glitter.

"No, I really ought to be...be..." Something hits her system then, making her go limp, being supported by the bosomy beauties beside her.

"Get him in the carriage," the leader commands, not sounding the same in the slightest.


	10. Chapter 10

Loke walks outside of the restaurant to look for Haruhi, and it is only by chance that he happens to glance down the street at the women trying to lift the man into a carriage. It only takes a moment for Loke to realize it is her and assess the situation before dashing towards the carriage. "Haruhi!" A ball of light blue light hits the middle of his chest and stuns him, knocking him to the ground. Loke is only able to look onward helplessly as they finish loading her to take her away. Immobilized on the ground, Loke is only able to see an emblem on the back of the carriage before it goes off and he commits it to memory. He struggles with all of his might to move, hating the feeling of powerlessness as he tries. _Back to Fairy Tail. Move. Come on._

It takes a while, but he is eventually able to peel himself off of the ground and starts toward the guildhall he knew as home for three years. When he finally gets through the doors, he collapses onto the ground as his strength leaves him. The sudden intrusion and situation kicks up a fuss in the main hall. "Loke! What are you doing here?"

"Haruhi...gone...taken..." His words are halted as he tries to breathe, the throbbing in his chest making it harder than he would think it would.

"'Taken'?" Lucy cries out while everyone gathers around. "Why would anybody want to take _him_?"

"Dunno-" he gasps and his hand clutches at his heart as if trying to rip something out of it while it burns. "Got to...find him."

"Hey man, you feeling okay?" Natsu asks, eyeing the perspiring man gasping for breath on the floor.

"What...do you think?" Loke hisses at him, not pleased with his lack of observation skills at the moment.

"Mira!" Lucy calls out, and Elfman lifts him up to take him to the infirmary.

"Time's...wasting," he protests, trying to fight him off before his chest makes him hiss again.

"We have to fix this!" Lucy counters him, "how much help will you be to him in this condition anyway?"

They get him up the stairs after that and Mira gets the chance to look him over before opening the front of the shirt where Loke's hand has a deathlock and it stops them all with a collective gasp. There is a blue heart emblem with a single eighth note inscribed in pink on top of it that seems to pulse with magic. "What happened?" Mira demands.

"Haruhi was taken...then I was-" he hisses and reaches up again while everyone else watches the mark glow a bit. "I was hit...by a light and...dammit this hurts. I couldn't move." He tries to take a deep breath, but it's shaky. "Hour ago...maybe."

"Did you see the attackers? Did you recognize them?"

"Not really...and no. Stuffed in...carriage." He looks over to Lucy. "Tried going back...to heal?" She nods and he looks worried as he continues, "couldn't...go." His eyes search hers for some kind of answer.

"We'll get you back Loke, don't worry," she promises.

"Call...Aires." So Lucy calls Aires for him and Grandfather Crux to look at the mark to give Mira an action plan for working wth a celestial spirit. She shows up, apologizing like always, and breaks down into tears seeing Loke. Crux gets the situation from Lucy and sets to work while sawing logs in the corner. "Tell them...I'm fine,okay?"

"But why don't you?"

I'm needed. Here." His fists clench as he holds his breath, not wanting to relax in front of Aires.

"You need to come back now and be healed of this. Come back with me to get you better. You can always poof over here again when you get healed."

"Tried that. Go tell. Time's wasting." With watery eyes, she disappears in a puff of pink fluff. A minute later, Crux yelled himself awake and started reciting.

"The mark upon the chest of Celestial Spirit Leo the Lion belongs to the Siren's Song guild, a completely female group made of dark wizards. The mark isn't a guild marker, as those are taken willingly, but a stamp of magic to incapacitate you. It was made by a wizard named Melody, and can only be removed by either her hand or her death. That mark is exactly one hour and frty-seven minutes old, leaving you forty-five hours and thirteen minutes left of your power and life left.

"Where is Haruhi?" Loke demands from the bed.

"There is no one named 'Haruhi' in my records."

"Crux, what does this guild do?" Lucy asks.

"Siren's Song is a smaller dark magical guild made up of women. Recently strange occurances have happened with the name, such as reports that have their name linked to several disappearances throughout Fiore. No other news to report." He then disappears in smoke altogether while everyone sits in shock.

"Forty-eight hour time clock?" Lucy finally speaks up. "Less now?"

"He isn't in his system? Thought the old man knew everything," Natsu says, shocked.

"He's not of our world, Natsu. Remember?" Loke laughs bitterly at Mira's reminder to Natsu, thinking about how it connected to earlier.

"Where is this group? The nerve of them take one of us!" Natsu looks ticked as he says it, even if Haruhi had only been a member there for two days. _A member's a member: honorary or not,_ Freed thinks, remembering Loke as a member before he came out as a celestial spirit with Lucy. He gave up his full-member mark and got one like Haruhi's in it's place because he had to be more devoted to Lucy than the guild itself as he was her spirit.

Loke sits up in the bed. "Since I won't...get better without that...witch...let's move out."

"You aren't going anywhere," Mira says, easily pushing him down.

"I might have to...be there for her to...take it off-"

"Death is an option, right? I'll handle her," Gajeel speaks up, "you Fairies aren't used to blood spilling, yeah?"

"I have to get ahold of the Master if we're challenging a dark guild. We act under him and reflect him, so lay low for now," Mirajane takes control of the people as Second. She leaves the room to contact him and Loke takes as deep of a breath as he can to test his lung capacity. Aquarius could probably get him now. _If I could just get back..._ Lucy looks at him with worry, and it just ticks him off more. _This Melody's going to pay._


	11. Chapter 11

She wakes up groggily, this time knowing she's not home, but not knowing where she is. _What happened? I went to dinner, there was a tense part where I ecided a walk was my best option, and then there were those girls..._ She can't remember what happened after the glitter was blown in her face. Her eyes adjust to the darkness around her and sees the bars ahead of her. The terrible taste in her mouth says that she's been out for hours already. She tests out her voice and is awarded with a croaky "hello?"

"Hey, new one's awake!" She hears a chorus of people around the hall she can barely see when she shuffles to them, having a tough time standing since her arms are restrained by what feels like manacles.

"There's other people here?"

"You've got that right. I'm Jack." The voice sounds like it's coming from a room next door, possibly another cell. "I was the first one here, and with you we're up to twelve. What's your name?"

"Haruhi. Why are we here?"

"Your guess is as good as any of ours, friend. They only feed us, not speak to us. I've been here a month, the others ariving every couple of days. You got here maybe an hour ago."

"Where are we?"

"Again, your guess is as good as ours, but sometimes I think I almost smell the sea."

"The sea?"

"I smell it on them when they come in. In their hair or on their shoes mostly."

"How far is the sea from," _ah, what was it called again? Um. Going to have to venture a guess._ "...Fiore?"

"Fiore is the country, lad: I don't thnk we have left the kingdom."

"Sorry," she says. "What was it, what was it?" She mumbles, "some kind of flower...roses...carnation...lily, is the cat...persimmion is a fruit, isn't it?"

"Are you trying to think of Magnolia?" The voice named Jack asks, shocking Haruhi because she didn't think she was mumbling tht loud.

"That's it! How far is the sea from Magnolia?""I don't know, an hour or two by magic mobile maybe? Half a day by carriage?"

"Depends on which way you're headed!" Another disembodied voice echos slightly farther down the corridor. "North it's that, but other was it could take days."

"Right, Sterling, but I don't think they would go that far for a person."

"I'm from the west-"

"But you were picked up around these parts. Doesn't matter where youre from, so long as it's convenient." He redirects his voice, "hey Haruhi, so you have any magical ties?"

"I'm not from this land, Jack."

"Well then, why did thy mention Fairy Tail when you were brought in? They seemed spooked."

"Fairy Tail is the people I'm staying with."

"'Staying with'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, a few found me lost yesterday, so they seem to want to get me home. Until then, I'm rooming with a couple of them."

"You've met Fairy Tail members?" His voice rises in astonishment. "Which ones?"

"This guy named Freed, I think, found me, then going back to their guild I talked to the bar/infirmary person, everyone called her Mira, then there was a talent show, and I'm staying with some pink haired guy named Natsu and a guy with big black hair who seems to be rocking the grunge look. I think his cat called him Gajeel or something."

"Woah. The Thunder Legion, _the_ Mirajane Strauss, Salamander, and _another_ dragon slayer? On top of that, a _talent show_? Ha! You must be one lucky dude!"

"Must not be if I'm in here."

"Well, yeah, but it's _Fairy Tail_ : the legendary guild."

"Well, that does me a lot of good in here," she retorts sarcastically. "Have you guys tried to escape?"

"Once. Fella got out and said he would get help, but an hour later he was brought down here again and was killed in front of our eyes. It was bloody gruesome to say the least. No one has tried since."

"No plans o anything?"

"What kind of plans could ordinary people cook up to fool and escape a guild of wizards? That guy was an MP reserve before this happened to him."

"So what do we do? Are we really going to just sit here until we get what's coming to us?"

"If it's better than being murdered like that, yes."

"Well, I guess that makes you dead anyway."


	12. Chapter 12

Haruhi tries wiggling the cuffs on her wrists, and when they don't really move she inspects everything in the cell, piece by piece. After a while of nothing, she huffs and kicks the bars in frustration, and is greeted by the sound of solid metal.

"It's no use. Stronger than steel, this looks like high-grade bars. Railroad worthy."

"And the cuffs?"

"What cuffs?"

"What do you mean, 'what cuffs'? Are you telling me that you're free?"

"About as free as a bird in a cage wold be."

"But you don't have these cuffs around your wrists behind your back?"

"No. Wouldn't have lasted the month like that. Can you go to the edge closest to me and somehow get your arms outside of the bars so I can see them?" Haruhi twists her body sideways a tad and awkwardly shoves them out as far as they'll go. "Those look to be magic-proof. Why would they...hold on, whatcha got on your arm?"

"What?"

"Some kind of mark. Is that...maybe Fairy Tail?"

"That? That can't..." Their words echo in her head. "I take that back. They said something about being a member or whatever. Maybe an honorary one."

"Really?" His voice is a little higher, maybe in excitement. "That's why they put magic-proof cuffs on your wrists then."

"What does that mean? I didn't even believe in it a couple days ago, and still don't to some degree."

"He's a member of Fairy Tail?" A voice shouts from down the hall.

"Seems to be," Jack calls back. His arm is stretched out of the bars on his cell to trace the mark on her arm, trying to make sure it is real.

"Then we might _actually_ be saved!" A cheer rings out among them.

"What's so good about being saved if you get killed by rubble and debris? Those Faries are a menace with disaster in their wake!" Chips in the man who spoke earlier, Sterling.

"Well, I like the chances anyway! It's better than before at least when we had no hope whatsoever! You have been so pessimistic this whole time, Sterling, so lighten up!"

"Of course I am pessimistic Alby; we're stuck in a dungeon and our only hope is that crazy Fairy Tail!"

"You should be rejoicing!"

"Sterling and Alby has always clashed in their thoughts here," Jack says as they keep on, now prodding the cuff as her arms strain to keep them within a reasonable reach. "This must be a newer pair than when I interned at a shop that makes them; I don't know any tricks to get them free."

"that's only." She takes her arms back through the bars. "Don't you think they'll actually come?"

"Personally, I would bet on it because of their reputation in the past."

"Even if you weren't involved young man, Sterling adds, "those Fairies get involved with everything. Remember the Phantom incident?"

"Yeah, yeah, we got it; you don't like Fairy Tail," Alby says. "they are good people at heart." Sterling does nothing aside from give a sarcastic little chuckle.

"Do they know you're gone?" Jack asks.

"I would think they would; I went out with one of them to a restaurant when I was taken." She sits down in the corner nearest to Jack and lays her head back into the wall.

"they should be looking then."

"Which one were you out with? Mirajane? Lucy? Erza? Cana? Levy? Juvia?" Alby asks from further down.

"Loke, I think."

"Loke? I don't remember her."

"Well, I thought he was a member since he stayed close with Lucy. What was she freaking out about again...some kind of spirit?" Her mind struggles as it reaches into her foggy memories.

"Lucy. She was the celestial wizard during the Grand Magic Games, right Alby?" Jack assure himself.

"Oh, yeah: she was awesome. So it was a celestial spirit? I don't know of any named Loke though."

"I think that was a nickname or something since they all used it." Her mind stalls trying to remember, frustrating her to no end. "It's right there, I know it."

"You don't have to try so hard. They knocked you out, remember?" Jack kindly reminds me. "It may be tricky to think things through, so don't sweat it."

"It'll bug me if I don't figure it out," she says as she stretches her mind out, feeling exhausted from the effort.

"Just don't hurt yourself, got it?" She doesn't reply to his worried tone as he can already hear her breathing change. Her head hangs down now in concentration to figure out his real name. "Why don't you describe the spirit?" Jack tries to give her a break.

"Wore a suit, had orange hair, and when he once took off his sunglasses at dinner, his eyes were a green-gold."

"Was his hair, like, flaming orange?" Alby asks, still listening.

"No, it was more of a burnt orange rather than that bright."

"It could be Leo, Jack."

"The Lion?"

"That actually rings a bell. That's probably it."

"So you went on a date with the leader of the celestial spirits?" Alby calls from down the hall for clarity.

"Sounds about right. Lucy used that tone of voice when she was saying that too."

"Well, yeah, _he's a celestial spirit:_ " Alby emphasizes, "another species of sorts, really. And if he's her spirit, they must be close to a point, best friends or like family."

"And I'm not even 'from this land', blah blah blah. Lucy can talk your ear off." She sighs. "A night out is a night out. It got my mind focused off the fact that I'm not where I'm familiar and don't know what's going on. And then I was taken: go figure."

"That's bad luck."

"Is no one going to mention that they're both fellas anyway?" An unnamed voice calls out.

Haruhi is about to let it go since she is tired enough, but she remembers that she didn't have to hide it anymore, being outside of high school and all. "I'm not a guy."


	13. Chapter 13

A chorus of surprise echoes around the cavernous hall. "How can that be?!" Jack asks, bewildered at the turn of events. "All month this woman's guild has been rounding up men for something. Why take a woman now?"

Haruhi gives a short laugh. "Probably a mistake actually. It happens a lot. People tend to think I'm a smaller, more feminine guy rather than a girl. It happened at my school and I went through all of high school being thought of as a guy. I wouldn't be surprised if the people at Fairy Tail don't know I'm a girl yet."

"Why would you go along and pretend to be a guy?" Alby asks, not missing a beat. "You could tell them if you notice."

"Well, for high school I had to pay off a debt while working in an all guys club, and since they let me join without knowing it at the beginning, I just continued to work with them. I still had a debt and all to work off, so I just pretended to be one of them. After a while it became natural not to reject it after a while since I already believe that it doesn't matter what gender a person is to make them a good person."

Not one of the other people in the area say anything for a while. It's so quiet that Haruhi nearly falls asleep in the prolonged silence. Alby is the one to break it. "We shouldn't tell them. We should just pretend that we don't know he's a she. I know enough to know that they are looking for guys for whatever they are planning, but they don't know he's a she. The later they find out, the more time it bought to complete whatever this is and it gives us more time for someone to come and get us. I'll pretend I don't know it."

"When would that even come up?" Sterling scoffs.

"I'm saying it before it does. The later this guild know, the better for any of us."

"You're a smart fifteen-year-old," Jack comments.

"I would like to say I've grown over the last few weeks."

"You have," Jack assures him. "Okay, As longest one in stay here, I say we delay this insight _if_ it comes up-"

"Which it's not-"

"Doesn't matter. If we protect the girl's identity of being a girl, we may delay their plans further. Delaying their plans is our one way of fighting back in our current position. I believe that Fairy Tail is coming to get her, so it's only an amount of time before something changes around here. The fact that they put magic cuffs on her prove that they are worried about the thought of the Fairies coming to the rescue, which they will because they put hold their members as high as family. So, in the meantime, Haruhi, we'll keep it how it was."

"Okay. I just wanted to let you know. I think I'm going to fall asleep now since my brain isn't wanting to work right for me."

"Did you hit your head when the got you?" Jack asks with concern colouring his voice.

Haruhi thinks back to try and remember the abduction. _I was unconscious before I really know what was happening._ "I don't believe so, but I don't think I have a choice about sleeping right now anyway," she yawns with her eyes shut. Seconds later she is totally out, Jack's voice melting into the background.

Mira gets everyone's attention to the bar where she's standing on top of so everyone can see and hear her. It isn't until Erza joins her and demands the guild's attention that some look their way.

"Alright! I have some news, so listen up!" The guild's buzzing lessens and quiets before they are all staring at the mage. "With help from some other of the other council members after Master relayed the news of the kidnapping, we have the location of the group that has stolen our newest member." Unanimous cheers ring out from the group, itching to get going. "I have already dispatched the Exceeds to get a visual from the air, so now we are finding a plan of attack and making groups to complete this mission. We have roughly forty hours to get it completed, so we have to move quickly. Fairies, our main goals are to fix Loke and rescue the boy, but Master has also said 'if we take out the dark guild, it would be icing on the cake. I look forward to meeting our newest family member!" Another cheer rises from the crowd after they went silent to listen to their Master's words.

Erza takes a step forward. "Alright. Here is what we know so far," she sets up to debrief them until the Exceeds get back. "The guild in question is Siren's Song." Mira uses a light pen to draw the symbol for the guild in the air for people to see, but Lucy steps forward to help since the picture is coming out to be blobs. "Their guild is one that turned dark not too long ago, and only recently started making trouble for people. From what we can decipher, this hasn't been their first successful kidnapping. They have a mage that uses some kind of magic stamp that takes away magic energy slowly, but painfully. This mark cannot be removed unless she is dead or she takes it off. She has placed this stamp on Loke," she points to the Lion Spirit in the corner of the hall, stubbornly not wanting to wait in the infirmary and being propped up by Gray and Natsu. "Unless the mark is removed, he will die soon." A somber aura permeates the guild as the seriousness of the situation sets in. "We don't know what's happening with Haruhi, our new member, but we will save him and anyone else who needs to be saved. The guild in question isn't large in members, there's maybe around twenty in total for the records, so we shouldn't need the whole guild to go along, but possibly a few different teams, depending on how big this guildhall is and the members spotted. Time is of the essence, so we must do this as quickly as possible, and if it means more people, so be it."


	14. Chapter 14

The Exceeds burst through the door, exhausted. "Erza!" Happy yells, rushing straight to the red headed warrior, the other two following suit at a slightly slower rate to report and fill in any gaps that Happy either forgot or was too emotional and left out. "It's like a castle and there's many wizards there!"

"It's roughly a day's walk from Hargeon, quite close to the sea. We counted a total of twenty-five wizards, five of which were obviously stronger than average," Patherlily translates.

Carla follows with "their guild looks roughly the size of the mail Heartfilia estate, but it is embedded into a cliff, so we can't say for sure if that's it, of if there's more behind it. It's evident that it used to be a guild that housed plenty more wizards. As for Haruhi..." Everyone looks at Carla as she trails off.

"The boy was no where we could easily see, but it looked like they were preparing something," Lily finishes as Happy finds Natsu to sob on about the last part.

"How did the stronger wizards seem?" Erza asks.

"Their magic signatures would be the equivalent to three S-Class wizards and two SS-Class wizards." Carla says, and Lily nods along with her.

"We couldn't get close enough to listen to what their exact plans were though, but it didn't look good at all." There are only two ways to get to the building, and one entrance." The guild holds their breath as Erza thinks and strategises in her head.

"Okay, here's the plan." She divides the guild to go both ways, a shared number of varied talents and strengths. Natsu and Happy, Gray, Lucy, and Erza are paired with Levy, Gajeel, Lily, Jet and Droy, and Cana, while the Thunder Legion is paired with the Strause siblings, Juvia, Wendy, and Carla. "...and then once in, we'll fan out to find who we need the most; that is out top priority. Be careful of flying balls of light, but capture the person responsible for them. The one creating these lights would be the one needed to save Loke."

"Where am I in your plan?" He pipes up.

"You're not going."

"What?!"

"You are too weak to even move much on your own now. You should just stay back here."

"Oh Hell no! I can't stay back here while my guild goes out and fights on my behalf!" Erza opens her mouth to defend her stance, but Loke beats her to it. "And what if to remove the mark, I have to be there?"

Erza's jaw snaps shut audibly in the silent room as the stare-off goes on between the two. "As a member of Fairy Tail in charge of this mission," she starts out stiffly, but in full power, "I have to say that you must stay behind, Loke. I could have Freed draw up runes for you to stay in where you are." Loke is about to protest again, but Erza continues. "I, however, cannot have any say as to where Leo the Lion treads," she glances at Lucy, "so long as he does not get in the way of the mission we have to fulfill. Now, everyone: to the train station! We catch the first train to Hargeon out of here!" Erza makes her way through the parting crowd towards the station as it begins to follow her.

Loke Looks after Erza slightly confused, and Lucy claps him on the shoulder with a grin on her face. "You're with me, Leo. Come on."

Natsu and Gray Help him along to the station, going on about the scene they just witnessed so early in the morning to make their days. "You have got some _guts_ Loke!"

"Yeah, man! I have never seen anyone talk back to Erza like that and get away with it, much less also get their way too!" Natsu declares with his signature wide grin, glad to see _someone_ get the better of her, but wishing it was him.

"You may be coming with, but you are _not_ going to be a part of the fighting," Lucy sternly lets him know from the other side of Gray, Happy sitting on Natsu's other shoulder on top of Loke's arm.

"But Lucy-!"

"Oh, come on now Luce-!"

"Fine." The other two stop arguing when Leo gives in so quickly and look at each other.

"Good." They get to the train station and wait around for about an hour and a half on the sidelines, waiting for passage to Hargeon and tickets from Erza as she hands them out, giving Lucy all of theirs instead of trusting the boys with them.


	15. Chapter 15

"So why did you give in anyways?" Gray asks Loke. Natsu has passed out on the floor with Happy's bag under his head. Happy is sitting by Gray who is sitting by the window across from Lucy, who has the Lion's head in her lap.

"She is my master," he says simply as Lucy strokes his hair, making his eyes close. "I would do anything for her, and if she is the one who says to stop, I will."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that. I do my best to keep her safe," he sighs, "but it is also my job to follow her orders."

"You've got that right." She scratches right behind his ears and he purrs.

"I just want to be close in case she gets into any more danger than she's already in."

"Lushie's in danger?!" Happy yells.

"What do you mean?" Gray asks. "How is she in danger?"

"Thanks, Loke, for saying that," Lucy sighs, slumping a little bit in the seat.

"Well don't they deserve to know?"

"I'm sure they do, theoretically, but now isn't the best time."

"Is there ever a good time?"

"No, but-"

"Will one of you tell me already?" Gray interjects before they completely forget he is there.

"Sorry. Lucy and I are linked," Loke tells him.

"Yeah? So?" His tone is nonchalant.

"In more than just a mage-spirit bond kind of way," Loke leads him.

"You two are together? Congrats. But why does that mean Lucy is in danger?"

"We aren't together!" Lucy clarifies, her face tingeing red.

"Not that I don't wish-" She smacks his head lightly and continues herself.

"The Spirit King set a Body Link spell on us when I challenged his rule when I saved him."

"A Body Link spell?" He asks quizzically before his eyes go wide. "You mean that you can feel everything he is going through?!"

"No!" Lucy reassures him quickly.

"Thank the heavens for that," Loke interjects.

"I would be incapacitated if that happened. I wouldn't have been able to leave the infirmary and we would have gone down at the same time. It would have been obvious that something was wrong sooner, rather than just a vague feeling."

"So you're fine? Wait, he said you were in danger!" Gray looks stressed while thinking over the conflicting ideas and Happy isn't faring better.

"I was on my own magic when I got hit, not hers. If I was on hers, she would be incapacitated, even if we would probably get another day to complete the mission."

"I don't get it," Happy pops back into the conversation, raising his hand.

"It would take about two days to get rid of the Zodiacs this way on their own, a single day if it were a silver key. I would be about the length of a silver key."

"Two plus one is three, Happy," Gray says, "and two plus zero is two."

"Right. If I was on her magic, three days is it. Lucy and I would die and the rest would be free of their contracts. I am so far the only one able to summon myself. If it were another spirit, it would be both of them, no doubt because Lucy would be summoning them."

"But it isn't, so how is it that Lucy is in danger too if you are on your own?"

"The link."

"But you said-"

"The Link is indirect, Gray. It made it so Loke knows when I'm in distress or anything. It let's him check up on him and stuff. However, the link makes me vulnerable here. If we don't save him in time, I would still die." _So she knew hen, huh? I wonder if she got the rest then_ , Loke sighs and closes his eyes and she resumes petting his head.

"What?! No, Lucy!" Gray nearly shouts and Happy starts crying, so Gray puts a hand on Happy's head to quiet him.

"The link would slowly suck my magic after his...passing. After a few weeks I wouldn't be able to even open Plue's door." Loke waits for the rest of it to come out, but it doesn't.

"We have to tell everyone," Gray says, worrying for Lucy.

"We can't!" She panics. _That is why I didn't even want to tell you._

"They deserve to know, Lucy!"

"It would put more pressure that necessary for the mission! I can't burden them."

"Maybe...but it might help Natsu though."

"He does fight harder for his friends, doesn't he?"

"Erza's in charge, so just her and Natsu then."

"No, Gray, we can't tell her."

"Why not?" He looks at her bewildered and Loke looks up at her.

"She won't let me fight if she knew, and since I am a Fairy Tail wizard, she can make me sit this one out! The spirits need the chance to fight for their leader, Gray, and I have to give them that opportunity."

Gray sits in silence for a while as Lucy looks pleadingly at him. "Fine, I won't tell her, but at least tell him," he says as he shoves Natsu with his foot, only gaining a grunt from the man."

"I promise as long as you don't tell Erza, I'll tell Natsu. As soon as he is lucid enough, that is."

"Deal. Now let's get some shut eye while we can."

"Good idea." Gray leans against the window and gradually falls asleep with his hand still on Happy's head as Happy sleeps too. Lucy is about to follow them when Loke whispers to her.

"I thought it was on purpose that you left it out, but you _do_ know what will happen if you go into battle today, right?"

"Yes, Loke, I do, she whispers back after making sure the others are sound asleep. "But I have to give them their shot, just as I have said."

"But depending on how you fight, if you do, and it doesn't work out right, you will have even less time than what you led them to believe. The whole 'it'll be a few weeks' thing is if it happens when you are at full power, which you wouldn't be if you fight."

"But I have to, and I will. As I've said to you before, Leo, what's the point of having this power if you can use it to save those you care about? Now, let's rest. You may have gotten the hang of conversing, but you can't be doing well at all." She rubs his head to try to relax him. "I'm sure the spirits are in a frenzy with what little time they have for all of this. How long is two days here in the spirit world?"

"Roughly a half hour, maybe a couple minutes more."

"At least we weren't on that time like then."

"On that timeline we'd have two months here. Maybe more because the spirit world is constantly healing me. It would just depend if it drained faster than it could be replenished."

"But we wouldn't know if we had two months for Haruhi."

"True. I wonder how he's doing."


	16. Chapter 16

Haruhi wakes up, gasping as if cold water was tossed upon her and she jumps from being startled, only to find out that she can't jump much. And that the cold water wasn't a fake feeling. A purple haired girl puts down a bucket, presumably the one that had the icy water in it and smiles. "Good morning!"

 _Play it cool,_ she can almost hear Kyouya say. "Is it really even morning?" Her tone sounds almost bored by the atmosphere as she tries to keep from shaking because of the cold water. _Damn, it's freezing, but don't show weakness._

"I guess not. It might be early evening by now, but it polite to say that when one wakes up."

"And such a pleasant awakening," she muses out loud.

"We thought it might be good to wake you, seeing as you have been asleep for quite a while." Haruhi watches her wring her hands and suddenly Haruhi decided to use her talents cultivated from the club. _It may come in handy, but even if not, my mind won't be on the water._

"How thoughtful!" Haruhi smiles as the purple haired maiden, smile almost mocking her genuine one. She shakes her head to one side to try move her bangs away from her eyes while they still held enough water to be moved easily and not be plastered on her face. "Thank you." It is silent for a few beats when Haruhi speaks up again. "Was there a reason to waking me up, or were you just worried about me?"

"Oh!" A faint pink glow shows on her cheeks. "Well, we need information from you."

"And then I can go?" Haruhi tosses her a hopeful look.

"I'm afraid not, I'm sorry." _She actually sounds almost sorry._

"You can't blame me for trying, huh?" She smiles to the purple haired girl again. "What can I do for you, miss?" She blushes a bit more and Haruhi wonders if she had stepped into Tamaki's area of expertise. _Whatever keeps you safe, Haruhi,_ her fake Kyouya reminds her.

"I was just here to wake you," she says. "Karen was the one who was going to question you."

"'Karen'?"

"Me," a voice says as someone walks away from the shadows behind Haruhi. Her hair is black, straight, and down to her waist. Her outfit would be considered very provocative if Haruhi was interested in her that way, slick black, revealing leather. Her aura is even different than the purple haired girl. While the purple haired woman had a softer feel, like the comforters at the twins' place, this 'Karen' felt like quicksand: okay on the surface, but quickly deadly. It felt foreboding and partially dangerous. _If I were back home, I would think she was a part of a gang or something. The Yakuza or Casanoda's syndicate._ "Thank you, Lacy. You can go."

"Alright," she squeaks, suddenly sounding like a mouse and she waves at Haruhi before leaving the room, the door shutting with a solid thud behind her.

"She was nice," Haruhi says under the scrutinizing eyes of the lady.

There is a definite pause and Haruhi wonders if this Karen was going to speak. "She is. Why aren't you freaking out? Begging for your life or asking why you're here or something?"

 _So she's used to questioning then...well, I guess instead of Tamaki, I should look towards the twins for this lady if needed._ "Am I supposed to?"

"Normal people do. Usually people who can be calm right now are spies or people who have undergone training for the circumstances."

"Well I'm not one."

"Someone who has would say that."

"So would an honest person," Haruhi reasons.

"Your heart rate is steady."

 _What? She knows my heart rate? She can't._ Haruhi brushes it aside as a joke. "I don't see the point of being scared now."

"Why not?"

"Honestly? This situation seems so cliché."

Karen's eyebrows pull inward the slightest bit before going back to how they were. "'Cliché'? How so?" Suddenly Haruhi doesn't see Karen as a threat.

"Well, we're in a dark room, I've been captured, I'm chained to a chair with no escape in sight, I would venture a guess in saying that we are sub-level, help hasn't heard to be on the way to my ears, and you woke me up with a shocking shower of ice water. What else is missing?" Karen looks around the room as if it were a legitimate question. "You were going to question me?" Haruhi asks.

"Yes." She straightens her shoulders. "It has been noted that Fairy Tail is on their way to Hargeon. How did you contact them?"

"Hargeon?"

"Yes."

There's a silent moment before Haruhi sighs."Sorry, but what's Hargeon?"

Karen looks taken off guard. "It's the port city?"

Haruhi lets out a puff of amused air. "You sound confused."

"Why would I be? It _is_ the port city."

"I didn't know that."

Karen looks at Haruhi skeptically. "How could you not?"

She shrugs in the chair. "I haven't been here for that long. I've never been to this place."

"You haven't been?" _It has gotten easier to see her as nonthreatening...was her little intimidation thing an act?_

"No. Wanna go?"

Karen's eyes widen. "What? You can't."

"Why not?"

"You're our prisoner!"

"So?"

"What do you mean, so? That's it. You are our prisoner!" _This is almost funny now._

"But I last time I went to the ocean I didn't have a good experience," Haruhi says, feeling like one of the twins whining.

"What happened?"

"I was pushed off a cliff trying to rescue my classmates from a group of thugs and I fell into the ocean."

"Woah." Karen looks shocked with her eyes wide in suspense. "How did you get-wait. Never mind. I was asking how you contacted Fairy Tail."

"Oh yeah." Haruhi smiles inwardly before answering. "I didn't."

"What?"

"I didn't contact them," Haruhi simply says.

"Then how are they on the way?"

"Beats me. Intuition?"

"That can't be right. You _must_ have contacted them."

"' _Must_ '? You guys have kept me prisoner with my arms cuffed behind my back. Most of the time I have been here, I have been passed out. You guys have been probably watching our moves in those cells, like good captors. When, pray tell, would I have had the time to contact them?"

Karen looks like she wants to say something, but her eyes become unfocused as her head tilts. "Okay, I will," she mumbles before addressing Haruhi. "Say that you are telling us the truth-"

"I have no reason to lie-"

"Then tell us what you know of the members coming."

"What?"

"Their strengths, powers, weaknesses, magic they use. Everything."

"But I don't know anything."

"You must. You're a member. Now tell us."

"Yeah, for, like, a day, and not really. I don't know anything."

"You must know something if you're with them."

"I heard they are famous in this land. Wouldn't you know more than I being that you're from here? I haven't been here that long. A few days at most."

"And you managed to become a member of the top magic guild in Fiore?" She asks, doubtfully.

"They are the ones who found me. I have no clue about anything around here."

"Really?"

"It's the honest truth. A few days ago I didn't even believe in magic. Now? I still find it unreal, but whatever."

"Unreal?"

"I saw a guy pop out of thin air. That is pretty unreal."

"A teleporter then?"

"I have no idea. Lucy said he was a spirit. And then she got mad about a few different things."

"A celestial wizard?" Karen speaks softly and Haruhi can barely hear her. "I'll have to tell Melody so she can dispatch them quickly." A fan kicks on on the ceiling and hits squarely on the back of Haruhi's neck, sending her shivering instantly, even after all the work she did so she could feel used to it. She barely notices Karen tilt her head again for some instruction to hurry up, but hears her when she speaks louder and walks closer. "I'm going to show you my magic now. It's going to be fun, just you wait. We'll play a little game." She touches Haruhi's sternum with her fingertips and Haruhi jumps, her head thrown back as her body tenses with the electricity flowing through her. There's a short reprieve as Karen speaks to her again, leveling eye to eye. Karen's eyes are golden and piercing. "Although I'd like to play a while, you need to give us answers quickly." _Okay, so intimidation wasn't just a trick!_ "So let's play first." Another wave is sent through her fingers into Haruhi and it feels more intense, paralyzing her before she can even scream, almost suffocating, but not enough to take her under.


End file.
